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Public companies switching to crypto treasuries are this season’s flavor. Companies like Strategy, Riot Platforms, GameStop and Metaplanet have combined equities and crypto to act as a bridge between these two industries. So far, most of these companies have only used Bitcoin as the reserve currency. However, the latest addition to this list, SharpLink Gaming, plans to implement the crypto reserve strategy using Ether.
In this article, let’s take a deeper look at the company, its crypto reserve strategy, and the market reaction to this development.
Key Takeaways:
Nasdaq-listedSharpLink Gaming, Inc. (SBET) has announced that it will create an Ethereum-based treasury.
The company acquired 176,270.69 ETH to make ETH its primary reserve asset. Over 95% of its ETH is staked, generating rewards and supporting network security.
The company’s share, SBET, has experienced sharp price swings, rising from $6.70 to $124 before falling back to $9.30.
SharpLink Gaming, Inc. is an affiliate marketing company headquartered in Minneapolis. It serves regulated sports betting and online casino operators by driving player traffic through its PAS.net affiliate network. In simple terms, SharpLink helps sportsbooks and iGaming sites attract and retain customers in US and global markets. In late May 2025, the company announced a major strategic pivot by launching an Ethereum-based corporate treasury strategy, making it one of the few companies that employ the crypto treasury strategy using Ether instead of Bitcoin.
According to a recent announcement, the company currently holds 176,270.69 ETH, purchased for $462,947,816 at an average rate of $2,626/ETH. This makes SharpLink the largest publicly traded ETH holder in the market. The company is also the second-largest holder of Ethereum overall, second only to the Ethereum Foundation.
This strategy is similar to Michael Saylor’s moves with Bitcoin. Saylor’s company began purchasing Bitcoin in 2020 as an inflation hedge, pioneering the model of a public company buying crypto and effectively becoming a proxy for Bitcoin in public markets. SharpLink is essentially applying that same playbook to Ether.
To finance its Ether strategy, SharpLink entered into a $425 million PIPE (private investment in public equity) deal led by Consensys. Additionally, the company also raised roughly $79 million more in equity proceeds. Over 95% of its ETH is staked, and generates rewards and supports network security.
After buying its ETH, SharpLink has deployed over 95% of its holdings into staking and liquid staking contracts. This means the company isn’t just holding ETH passively; it’s actively earning rewards for securing the Ethereum network. Joseph Lubin — founder and CEO of Consensy, co-founder of Ethereum, and SharpLink’s Chairman of the Board — has noted that this generates native yields for SharpLink, distinguishing it from other companies that merely buy and hold crypto.
In other words, SharpLink generates additional income on its crypto treasury by staking ETH for network security, effectively earning yield on its digital assets.
Consensys led SharpLink’s funding round. In addition to Consensys, the $425M raise included other major crypto venture firms, such as ParaFi, Electric Capital Partners, Pantera Capital, Arrington Capital and Galaxy.
While multiple companies participated, Consensys played the central role. As part of the transaction, Joe Lubin became SharpLink’s chairman, and Consensys is now advising SharpLink on its Ether acquisition strategy and helping integrate blockchain expertise into SharpLink’s management.
SharpLink’s Ether reserve and private investment announcement sent SBET sharply higher. On May 27, 2025, the day of the announcement, the company's share reached a high of $35.80 from the previous day’s close of $6.70. The stock continued surging into late May, reaching $124 on May 30, 2025, roughly an 1,800% increase within a seven-day span.
However, this rally was followed by a dramatic downturn. On Jun 12, 2025, SharpLink filed an SEC S-3 shelf registration for its PIPE investors. Many market participants misread this filing as a sign that insiders were selling, and SBET plummeted around 75% in after-hours trade.
After the crash, SharpLink’s leadership stepped in to clarify the announcement. Joe Lubin took to X to explain that the S-3 numbers were purely hypothetical. He emphasized that the filing merely registers shares for potential resale, and that neither Consensys nor Lubin himself has sold any shares of SBET. After this clarification, by mid-June SBET was trading at $9.35, 40% higher than its pre-announcement price.
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SharpLink’s recent move to acquire ETH is another milestone within the trend of public companies adopting crypto assets. By following Michael Saylor’s example and extending it to Ether, the company is hoping to replicate Strategy Inc.’s success in bridging the gap between Wall Street and web3. However, the underlying volatility seen in SBET suggests that such companies have yet to be correctly priced in the market, and are only acting as speculative assets at the moment.
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